Sick Cat Not Eating

[jinxy fritz]

My 9 year old cat is not eating or drinking. He is sick, and I have been to the vet twice this past week, once for an exam, blood work, fluids, an antibiotic injection, and an appetite stimulant, then again to learn how to give fluids under his skin at home. He is having kidney issues and has dental issues that cannot be taken care of until his kidneys are better.

I have tried so many different things to get him to eat. Anything solid, dry cat food, chunky wet cat food, cat treats, bits of chicken, hamburger and rice, etc... He will lick at once and then just grind his teeth. Even the pate cat food now he won't eat. I even tried blending chicken and water super smooth and he wouldn't eat it.

I got him to eat/drink the gravy/liquid part from a container of the fresh pet food in the refrigerated section of the grocery store. So I mixed a bit of water with that and he drank about 2 TBS of that, but then did not want it again later. I am trying all kinds of different foods, cat food and people food. The vet said give him whatever he'll eat. I even tried a really soft scrambled egg, something he used to love.

I also bought some high calorie nutritional gel from the pet store and thinned that with a bit of water. He licked it off my finger but refused to drink it. I did try giving the gel undiluted off my finger as well and he refused that too.

He is suffering, I know he is and it's breaking my heart. I haven't lost hope yet that he won't improve. I just need to get some food into him. I think he'll perk up and maybe start eating on his own again. I just don't know how to force him to take in food. I don't want to hurt him or for him to choke, or aspirate the food and get even sicker.

I also don't want my hope that he'll get better to cause him needless suffering. So an even bigger question, how do you know when enough is enough? I don't think I'm at that point, but I may just be being selfish.

I'm looking for advice, anything that may help.

The picture I'm putting in shows the healthy 10lb boy just 3 weeks ago and now he's about 7lbs and not doing well.

 

[abyeb]

I'm sorry that you and your kitty are going through this. I'd like you to know that you've found a supportive community here on TCS.

Have you tried heating the wet food in the microwave? This makes the food smellier, which cats find appetizing.

 

[jinxy fritz]

I'm sorry that you and your kitty are going through this. I'd like you to know that you've found a supportive community here on TCS.

Have you tried heating the wet food in the microwave? This makes the food smellier, which cats find appetizing.

I have tried heating it up. When he drank the liquid from the food that was cold. I was surprised he drank it. So I try everything cold and warm now.

 

[Ragdollbabies]

I'm so sorry to hear your cat is sick and not eating. He is very beautiful.

One thing you might try, if you haven't already, is stage one meat baby food (make sure it's just meat, no onion or garlic powder). My childhood cat ate nothing but beef baby food on a spoon for the last year of his life, when he had severe renal failure. I really think the baby food gave him an extra year of life! That and daily subQ fluids like you are doing. Baby food is easy to lick, so maybe your cat would like it?

It's so hard to know when to let go. I had to put my beloved 14yo kitty to sleep this past spring, and it was an agonizing decision. After several days of in-hospital treatment for heart disease, he just wasn't getting better and I knew in my heart it was time, even though I wasn't ready to say goodbye. You will probably just know when it's time, so if you don't feel sure yet then that's probably your answer...

Best of luck to you during this tough time.

 

[lavishsqualor]

If I were you I'd talk to my vet and let him or her know that you are considering letting him go. Ask your vet what they would do if he were their cat. Vets are usually pretty good about giving honest advice in these situations. You certainly don't want to prolong his suffering.

 

[catcrazycanuck]

So sorry to hear this. I've gone through it with one of mine and it is so frustrating when you try everything. I must've tried a couple dozens brands and types of canned food, people food... even roast chicken.. no luck! I did have some success with Almo chicken, which is a supplemental canned food and not a complete diet, as well as the water from canned tuna. Not ideal diets of course, but when you reach the point you're at, just keep trying everything! Have you tried or considered raw? Best if you can try it in small packages. At one point my guy would only eat raw boar, beef or lamb (not poultry). Sometimes if you can just get them eating something it brings the appetite back.
I wish you all the best for success getting him to eat!

 

[Letti]

Your boy is beautiful, I'm so sorry for him. I was in quite a similar situation with my 16 yo kitty, she had kidney issues in the last two years of her life. One time she got very sick, refused to eat, vet couldn't really do anything for her. I tried to feed her everything I could think of, and at last I gave her sugared water from a straw. She swallowed that and eventually I managed to put some thinned up cat's pate directly on her tongue and she swallowed that too. It went this way for about a week but then she did get better and started to eat on her own. I wish your kitty the best!

 

[jinxy fritz]

I wanted to thank everyone for the responses, and to give a little update. Fluff is doing a little better. His at-home fluids were bumped from every other day to every day and after spending a small fortune and mixing various things I finally found a concoction of food that he'll eat/drink. I've tried different things since and it's just the one thing he'll eat, so that's what he can have. I used a pouch of the Weruva cats in the kitchen mack, jack, and sam, 2tsp of the tomlyn high calorie nutrition gel for kittens dissolved in some homemade bone broth (just chicken bones, chicken, and carrots to make the broth) then just some water to get the desired consistency, which is about like super smooth tomato soup. He will only eat it cold out of the fridge, but he's eating about 1TBS, maybe a bit more every couple hours day and night.

I was getting his food ready this morning and he actually came out into the kitchen. I was super happy about that, especially since just 24 hours before he began eating he was stumbling to walk to the litter box. He's even laying out in front of the slider sometimes instead of just in the little corner he's been in since this began.

I'm hopeful that he'll keep improving. I just hope that once he's feeling better that new blood work shows an improvement too. One step at a time though.

 

[katlady-18]

So glad he is a little better. Kudos to you for coming up with this concoction, that's awesome! Good luck to you and your furry one, and may he overcome his issues soon.